Tim Barry
High On 95
Chunksaah (2017)
Nobody can doubt Tim Barry’s heart. He’s worn it on his sleeve since he began his solo career with a 2005 demo. Depending how you count live records and demos, High on 95 is his eight record since then. Besides being prolific, his songs are largely first-person accounts of a drifter watching the world around him in wonder. The sound is traditional: mostly Barry and his acoustic guitar, and sometimes joined by additional backing musicians. The theme this time around continues to focus on developing technology and how it disconnects people from the world instead of bringing them together. There’s a pointed aggression in his imagery, emphasizing the ugliness of concrete, cars and LED screens. “Chelsea” is a good example of this, contrasting the bustle of city life versus the calmer environment outside of the city, among the trees instead of the concrete. Sometimes it wavers into preachy territory—“Porter Street” leading that direction—and, at its best, it falls somewhere in the middle, noting the beauty of simple things, such as in “Riverbank.”In broad strokes, it’s Barry’s voice and backing acoustic with some nice hooks that make his songs work. His narrative leads the way in a tone that’s easily relatable. … Read more
Keith Morris
My Damage: The Story of a Punk Rock Survivor
Da Capo Press (2017)
Keith Morris is one of the remaining original punk rock figures that is still going and has never really ceased … Read more
Long Knife
Sewers of Babylon 7”
Beach Impediment (2017)
Oh man, haven’t heard Long Knife’s name called in a long time. You can choose to split pubic hairs over … Read more
Hard Girls
Floating Now
Asian Man Records / Specialist Subject Records (2017)
Hard Girls are a complex band – or maybe they’re not. They sing about hard life choices, serious moments, and … Read more
J. Hunter Bennett
The Prodigal Rogerson: The Tragic, Hilarious, and Possibly Apocryphal Story of Circle Jerks Bassist Roger Rogerson in the Golden Age of LA Punk, 1979-1996
Microcosm Publishing (2017)
After pilfering the band’s vehicle in 1983, the man in charge of the 4-strings, a reprobate by the name of … Read more
